Crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 'did not swerve'

The EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea did not swerve before disappearing off radar, according to Egyptian authorities.

Flight MS804 was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board when it went missing on Thursday.

Confusion has remained over what caused the Airbus A320 to disappear and plunge into the sea.

Ehab Azmy, the head of Egypt's state-run provider of air navigation services, said that the plane did not turn and there were no problems when it entered Egyptian airspace.

Mr Azmy told The Associated Press that in the minutes before the plane disappeared it was flying at its normal altitude of 37,000 feet, according to the radar reading.

Greece's defence minister had said that flight MS804 changed direction before losing altitude and crashing.

French investigators reported that smoke was detected on board the plane before it crashed.

Egyptian authorities said they believe terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure.

Some aviation experts have said the sudden turn of the plane reported by the Greek defence minister suggests a bomb blast or a struggle in the cockpit.

Ships and planes from Britain, Cyprus, France, Greece and the United States have joined the search for debris from the aircraft, including the black boxes.

Some wreckage, including human remains and personal belongings, have already been recovered.